Exercise recovery with aging

legalgem

I’m turning 62 in a few weeks. I’m a recreational runner down from half-marathons to 10k’s and strength training from 3 days/week to 2 because I’m so much more tired the next day than I used to be. But my head is saying exercise at least a little everyday and limit rest days. The last year is the first time I feel old! Tips on adjusting expectations?

Azdak

I would not be afraid of rest days. If you feel compelled to do something, then just keep it to stretching or mobility work. At 65 (today!) I need more recovery time than before, but I find that the rest days do not have a negative effect on conditioning. In some ways they are an improvement because I can do more quality work after I have recovered. 2 days of strength training is enough. And make sure you are going e-a-s-y on your "easy" days.

OldAssDude

Yes

We are all looking for the "fountain of middle age".

I'm 61 and rarely take a complete rest day. In the past year I could count on one hand the number of days I did not do at least one activity (even if it's just a quick mile and a half walk).

I do however, use walking and power walking as recovery from more intense workouts.

MobyCarp

If you're getting hurt and having to spend time rehabbing to get back to running, you probably need to back off. I'm a slow learner; it took me 3 or 4 rounds of injury and rehab to admit at age 62 that I needed to back off from running 6 days a week and only run 5. Hard rule: 2 non-running days a week, even if I feel like I could run on those day. It has done wonders for my durability and recovery.

And much as I hate the phrase, "listen to your body," there is no substitute for learning to gauge how beat up you are and backing off when you're more beat up than normal. That means, back off before it rises to the level of injury. The first few times, it feels awful to run 2 miles when you planned 5, or to simply not do the weighted calf raises because you're not up to it. Then after a few iterations of taking a rest day because you're feeling beat up, and being rewarded with feeling great when you get back to running, it becomes a lot more natural and acceptable.

CarvedTones

Even though I am in much better shape - leaner and stronger - that I was 15 years ago, my 45 year old self could go lights out to the limit several days in a row, like on a skiing trip or whatever. I would be beat at the end of each day, but ready to do it again the next day. Now I might actually have a little more stamina the first day but I can't go lights out more than maybe a couple of days in a row. My 25 year old self could go all out several days in a row and party half the night in between the days.

GottaBurnEmAll

I'm younger than some of you (56), but my autoimmune arthritis has worsened sharply over the past 2-3 years, and that has made recovery an issue. It's hard to take full rest days because totally resting is asking for my joints to stiffen up. Instead, I've scaled back on the intensity of my activity and still work out every day.

spiriteagle99

I'm 61 and run 35-40 mpw, except when marathon training. I get some exercise every day (walking) but usually do take one day a week when I don't do any other real exercise. I do find I need more sleep now than I did 10 years ago, especially after a hard workout. If you're having serious issues with energy, you might get your thyroid and ferritin levels checked.

AnnPT77

At 62, with various (mostly minor) limitations (minor OA, trigger finger, mastectomy/radiation scar tissue, late onset active life ( ), torn meniscus in one knee, etc.), I find that I do better with varying my activities.

In season, M-W-F-Sa, I row (on water). Tu-Th, I spin. In off-season, I row (machine) less often, but weight train more and swim a little. I avoid things that hurt lots (things that involve impact & torque on knees). I ice my knee after every workout.

For me, "exercise (almost) every day and limit rest days (I go for one a week, most weeks)" is a good strategy. But switching up what I do, and remedial stuff (the icing, some stretching/yoga - especially exercises from past physical therapy and ones recommended by my osteopath and massage therapist) is increasingly important, for me.

Which reminds me, I forgot to mention: Physical therapy every time I can talk a doc into a referral (I exploit the PTs to learn extra helpful/remedial stuff); regular visits to an Ostepath for manipulation; biweekly massages from someone I researched and tried various people to find, because I wanted therapy, not just relaxation.

I wasn't much active at all until my mid-40s (dumb young me! ), so I'm trying pretty hard to do what I need to do now, to be as strong and physically competent as I can be, within the limitations of good overall life balance.

mmapags

67 here. I do strength training 3x per week. Doing a 4 day program but I modify and rotate it for recovery reasons. I don't do a ton of intentional cardio but living in Oaxaca Mexico and not owning a car, I can walk anywhere from 4 to 8 miles. It's almost 5000 ft above sea level and lots of hills. So lots of unintentional cardio.

The day after leg day I find myself avoiding doing too much but upper body days like today, I walk wherever i want. Did over 7 miles today to the gym and back, shopping in an artisans market with my wife and going out to dinner.

jesselee10

Taking rest days from strength training is fine and recommended even a deload week can be helpful for muscle and joint recovery but if not working out at least keep moving. It seems if I just do nothing I am more stiff. Walk or light bike ride on off days can keep you loose and some mobility work helps too.

sijomial

I think of recovery in three separate elements:

1/ Recovery from injury - definitely far slower as I age (I'm 58). Tendons and joints in particular. I've changed my strength training to minimise the chances of injury as that was my biggest barrier to progress. Although I still thrive on relatively high volume I do a (sort of) pyramid training routine to be fully warmed up before the heavy lifts and very rarely go below 3RM. My rep ranges are flexible and take RPE into account for those good or bad days in the gym. I'm also a little more sensible in acknowledging that my catalogue of old injuries does mean I have certain hard limits that just hurt me when I keep banging my head against them.

2/ Muscle recovery - as long as I'm training regularly it's only an issue after something extreme. Recovery is slower now but alternate days strength training and cycling isn't normally an issue. I don't tend to take rest days for muscle recovery - I exercise other muscles or just have active days or do low intensity recovery exercise.

3/ General fatigue recovery - from prolonged intense training to hit a fitness peak or extreme exercise. After an 8 week intense cycling training program I was feeling really low and tired - that's my trigger for rest days. Right now I'm suffering a bit from two long cycle rides a bit too close together (67 hilly miles last Sunday and 100 miles on Wednesday).